Following on from this thread, http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php?3095-Just-out-of-the-etch.

I've had the blade and handle finished for a while for this. But I've been tinkering with the profile as it needed to be rubbed down again to etch my Logo. Its finally finished and I have tried to keep in mind the feedback from my pass around. I have gone for a for a very light etch this time and a fairly high hand rubbed satin finish. I'm going for subtlety, while the pattern is not obvious all the time, it blings when it catches the light. I'll add some specs and specific changes I've made from the pass around.

Thank you both. I'm quite pleased with the profile on this one. It feels like a much smaller knife. But then i've been used to a somewhat larger handle!:laugh:
I have a Gyuto which needs finishing in the same pattern and materials. These two will not be for sale as of yet. But depending on feedback will be a template for some future work. My experimentations with blue core/damascus are ongoing so I would hope to be able to offer some options and in mono-steel.

Andrew H

11-28-2011, 07:10 PM

That's a really nice looking knife, Will. What wood is the handle?

WillC

11-28-2011, 07:17 PM

Thanks Andrew, i'll bring my digi calipers home with me tomorrow and get some specifications up. The wood is stabilized Redwood from Burl source. The whole knife and handle has had a couple of light coats of beeswax in mineral oil. Its darkened the look of the wood quite a bit. The ferrule is blackwood.:biggrin:

Eamon Burke

11-28-2011, 07:19 PM

You really have a regular source for blue steel? I thought Hitachi metals were hard to get outside of Japan...

Is it #1 or #2?

WillC

11-28-2011, 07:38 PM

Its blue 2. There is a web store in germany that sell it, Dick biz I think. They have white 2 as well. But both in fairly limited sizes and at a premium, especially the blue. They have a hitachi carbon steel called YCS3 as well, but so far i'm loving the feel of the blue, which is a shame as its the most expensive. But in san mai it goes a bit further.:D

JohnnyChance

11-28-2011, 09:17 PM

Damn! Nice improvements! Do we get to try out version #2? haha

kalaeb

11-28-2011, 11:34 PM

Well done, I like the way the light etch makes your new signature stand out.

echerub

11-28-2011, 11:51 PM

Beautiful work! Yowza! :)

sachem allison

11-28-2011, 11:54 PM

now you nailed it Will, it's a beaut.

HHH Knives

11-29-2011, 12:08 AM

Will, that is really great! From the steel pattern to the lines on this one. You nailed it!

Burl Source

11-29-2011, 02:21 PM

Great looking knife.
I like the look with the light etch.
Subtle, but it makes you look twice.

WillC

11-30-2011, 04:22 AM

Thank you very much everyone. Looking forward to making next ones.:D

tk59

11-30-2011, 03:37 PM

THAT looks like it is an awesome cutter and it looks nice, too. :)

jmforge

12-01-2011, 06:17 PM

Very nice, Will. That W pattern does some interesting things when you draw it out, doesn't it?

WillC

12-02-2011, 04:00 PM

Yep it sure does. I have a petty in the same billet here, w's got a bit lost on that one. I think I might compress less and cut the billet in half up the middle next time. Ferry flip would be the one, still need to get a decent bandsaw for the 45 degree cuts.

jmforge

12-07-2011, 12:58 AM

You are going to get some stretching when you weld up, even with the flip, but in the case of the thin blades for kitchen knives, I think that the best way to do would be to start with a THICK flip billet, squish it down far enough to get everything nice and solid and then cut it up into slices like a big "loaf" mosaic billet. Easier said than done for use poor schlubs that don't have uber cool monster metal cuting bandsaws with blade welders and cooling sysems, but we can dream, right? :lol2:
Yep it sure does. I have a petty in the same billet here, w's got a bit lost on that one. I think I might compress less and cut the billet in half up the middle next time. Ferry flip would be the one, still need to get a decent bandsaw for the 45 degree cuts. Another soluton may be to cut the tiles thinner. i think that Kyle Royer did that in his video WIP he did for a big "starburst" bowie he did. He 4 wayed the billet several times and IIRC, his tiles looked like they weren't much more than about 1/2 an inch thick if that.

WillC

12-30-2011, 11:38 AM

Finally remembered to take home my verniers. Here are the specs for this one

Blade length - 297mm
Handle length - 147mm
Total weight - 244 grams
Taper from above choil, centre, to 10mm behind the tip
2.4mm - 1.8mm - 0.7mm
Edge thickness, ground to 0.1mm before sharpening. After sharpening an average of 0.2mm measured at the back of the final bevel.
The bevel is set at approximately 11 degrees per side. Finishing stone, Sigma 13K.
Balance point is 10mm in front of the choil.
The faces are convex giving the blade less flex considering the thinness and amount of taper. And giving much better cutting performance by reducing suction and sticking.
The steels are 75ni8 and en42J, around 3000 layers in this pattern triple tempered for a final edge hardness of around 60hrc.
The finish is hand rubbed to 600 grit, then etched and polished with micro mesh to around 3K.
The handle assembly is using a slotted dowel method. In this case the dowel is brass, giving the knife neutral balance without making the handle too large. Also giving great strength.

This one is for sale. Pricing and payment on my blog here
http://customkitchenknives.blogspot.com/p/for-sale.html
Happy New year all!

bieniek

12-30-2011, 11:57 AM

beautiful. Even my missus likes it, its serious :)

Just the shape of blade bothers me somehow

WillC

12-30-2011, 12:12 PM

Thank you bieniek, If you can put your finger on what it is that troubles you, would be much appreciated. I nearly went for a rounded tip on this to fit in with the Gyuto and Petty, but just loved the look of it like that. :D

bieniek

12-30-2011, 12:31 PM

The heel starts very nicely, good height for my taste, the angle down the line is super cool, but the tip... the angled spine side gives some agression and dramaturgy to the blade and looks proper decent, but how the tip is turning up and the curve of edge goes up, just doesnt work for me, edge profile should be more flat, for my taste.

Overally its just very very nice, the handle finish is gorgeous, and I mean it, the transitions smooth but angular, if this makes sense.

WillC

12-30-2011, 12:41 PM

Thanks, thats very helpful. It certainly brings home that one profile will not work for all. My pass around profile was much flatter. But I think a flatter profile looks better with a rounded tip, more Massamoto like on the spine/tip transition. This profile took more of an upsweep according to the feedback I received on the pass around. I will certainly sketch a flatter alternative for consideration on pre-order.
Thanks for the feedback and compliments.
Will

echerub

12-30-2011, 01:51 PM

I haven't been following this thread and just saw the knife for the first time... lovely finish, very beautiful handle, and I agree that the tip end of the profile is a little too curved for my taste. Essentially the "nose" seems a little high. I don't know if this actually is the case in-use, but that's just the first visual impression and may very well be just a preference thing.

Looks like high quality work though, Will! :)

WillC

12-30-2011, 02:16 PM

Thank you Len, I've just been comparing a couple of blades I have here, its quite interesting. I have a test blade with a rounded descent to the tip. It looks a much flatter profile. But on comparing the edge, it follows very nearly the exact same rise and line. I think there may be some optical illusion accentuating the upsweep here. Something that attracted me to this type of tip. Almost makes the whole blade look like its curving up, but the spine is flat. I'll try and get an edge shot of the two tomorrow to show you what I mean. This one is also very slender at the tip, I think this adds to it.

Edit :Just having a check with a straight edge, the handle is parallel with the spine, following a centre line through the handle lines up very closely with the tip.

bieniek

12-30-2011, 03:03 PM

I think there may be some optical illusion

Yeeees, it definitely would be better to have a look personally :P

WillC

12-30-2011, 04:33 PM

Yeeees, it definitely would be better to have a look personally :P
Ha ha , I see what you did there. We'll see.:D
If anyone has a ruler and a Suji handy though, would be interested to know for comparison, with the ruler in a straight line down the middle of the handle extending towards the tip, is the tip inline? above or bellow?

WillC

01-05-2012, 09:49 AM

The actual edge profile follows very closely that of my Masamoto ks 270 for reference.
This one is still available here
http://customkitchenknives.blogspot.com/p/for-sale.html
I will include it in a January sale and offer a 10% discount on the price listed there for KKF members.:biggrin:

WillC

01-10-2012, 06:47 AM

This lovely Suji still available at a 10% discounted rate on the list price for KKF.

WillC

01-13-2012, 11:59 AM

This one is wanting to go to work. A little further drop on this one to £420 to sweeten it a little. By todays rate thats about $644 dollars all in, no waiting time , ready to go.:D
List price to commission a knife like this is £480 plus postage and payment fees.

WillC

01-18-2012, 03:30 PM

A little drop on this one to £398. Thats $612 usd by todays rate. For a fantastic full damascus Suji.:D

WillC

01-24-2012, 11:30 AM

I made my lunch with this today. Anything other than doing my tax return, which is what I should be doing:(
But anyway here is some slicing footage for you. There has been a bit of debate about the upsweep to the tip on this. I have to say I think it works really well, giving nice surface area to the slice. But maybe this geometry depends more on your height and height of your counter than anything else.
If anyone would like this with a rounded tip though and bringing it down a touch more, I would do this, it would mean loosing 10mm off the end though.
Here is the vid, all feedback welcome.